PALM SUNDAY TO HOLY WEDNESDAY A brief journey through the week ahead (Holy Week) “Nails were not enough to hold God-made-man nailed and fastened to the cross had not love held him there.” St Catherine of Siena Holy Week is both ‘historical’ and ‘geographical’. The writings of a lady whose name was probably Egeria or Etheria (possibly a nun from a community in Eastern Europe) describes how on Palm Sunday at one o’clock, the people gathered on the Mount of Olives (in Jerusalem) and were occupied with various devotions until, at five o’clock, the passage is read from the Gospel about the children who met the Lord with palm branches, saying, “Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord”. At this the bishop and all the people rise and start on foot down from the summit. Everyone is carrying branches, either palm or olive. The modern ceremony follows the ancient pattern closely. A procession, to the church where the Eucharist is to be celebrated, is the best way of depicting Christ’s triumphal going up to Jerusalem and this is provided for in the first of the three forms in An Anglican Prayer Book, 1989 1. A striking feature of the Palm Sunday Eucharist is the prominence given to the Passion, as the Gospel reading of the day is called. MONDAY TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK An Anglican Prayer Book, 1989 provides readings for the Eucharist and Offices for these three days 2. The themes of the Eucharistic Gospels are the anointing of Jesus by Mary at Bethany (John 12:1-8); Jesus foretelling his death and glorification (John 12:27-36); and Judas leaving the Last Supper to betray Jesus (John 13:21-30). MAUNDY THURSDAY With this Eucharist begins the so-called Triduum (literally: three days). This should be the only Eucharist celebrated in a parish today, so as to demonstrate the solidarity of the people of God in that place. The theme of this Eucharist is thanksgiving for the gift of the Holy Eucharist and the demonstration of Christ’s love in his washing of the disciples’ feet. It is a festive occasion for which the Church dons her best apparel, but the festive spirit is overshadowed by the approaching passion, which predominates at/towards the end. It is for this reason that the Church has instituted a festival of unstinted joy and thanksgiving for the gift of the Eucharist on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday – Corpus Christi, or the Commemoration of the Holy Communion. The Gloria is always sung or said (it having been omitted from services since Ash Wednesday) and there is a custom of ringing the church bells during its recitation in which case they will then (again) be silenced until the Gloria of the Easter Vigil Eucharist. “Maundy” is derived from the Latin MANDATUM – commandment – from the closing words of the Gospel of the Eucharist: “Mandatum Novum Do Vobis” – “a New Commandment that I Give you”, Christ’s commandment that we love one another, the sign by which “all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). It gives its name to the ceremony of the washing of the feet, which is known as the Mandatum. This ceremony, in which the President, imitating the example of Christ at the Last Supper, washes the feet of members of the Congregation, follows the Gospel of the Day. The Prayers of the Church which follow the Mandatum are based on Christ’s High Priestly Prayer “that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). They pray for the unity of all Christians with the repeated response, “That we may be one”. Provision is made for the removal of the Sacrament at the end of the Eucharist3, and also for the Stripping of the Altar, while Psalm 22 with the antiphon, “they part my garments among them: And cast lots for my clothing”, is recited4. The Church puts off her festive apparel to await the desolation of the approaching Passion. 1 An Anglican Prayer Book, 1989, Page 172, paragraphs 13-19. 2 Ibid , Page 176 3 Ibid, Page 187, Paragraph 45 4 Ibid, Page 187, Paragraph 46 1 There will be those who will want to spend time, after the evening Eucharist, praying in response to Christ’s appeal, in Gethsemane, to the disciples, “could you not watch with me one hour?” With the Maundy evening Eucharist the Paschal celebration begins, running through the night into the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, and into that of the Saturday Night Vigil. Each event, as the Paschal Mystery moves towards its climax, is commemorated in an orderly sequence. It is, therefore, important that every effort should be made to attend these services. GOOD FRIDAY The Church is bleak, as it was left last night. The altar is bare. The procession enters in silence and the priest and assistants prostrate themselves before the altar (this was the normal practice of the Bishop at the beginning of each Eucharist in early times), or they may kneel, and all pray silently. There follows, without greeting or invitation, the Collect for Good Friday5. The old Testament Reading is the Fourth of Isaiah’s Servant Songs (Is 52:13-53:12), and this is followed by excerpts from Psalm 31, the Congregation breaking in with the response in plain chant “In / to your / hands: Lord / I com / mit my / spirit.” After a reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 4:14- 5:10), all say together the Great Antiphon of the Triduum heard in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians on Palm Sunday, “ Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.” Then follows St John’s account of the Passion, without response. THE EASTER VIGIL “This is our greatest vigil, and no other vigil of similar proportions is known. Several other vigils are kept by us, but nothing compares to this vigil. St Augustine Egeria tells us that in the Jerusalem Easter Vigil, “they do all things as we are accustomed.” The Easter Vigil was originally like any other vigil. It was a Synaxis, a service of lessons and prayers – in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. The Scripture readings were the essential element of the service. In the 5th Century (and possibly even earlier) there were twelve lessons, four of which are included in An Anglican Prayer Book, 1989. The Service of lessons in Jerusalem took place in the Martyrium6 and was preceded by the lighting of a lamp at the service of Lucernare (which was the origin of the Easter Candle). Meanwhile the Bishop was baptising the catechumens elsewhere. At about midnight he brought them into the Martyrium to participate for the first time in the Eucharist, which he then celebrated. Here then we have the pattern of our Anglican liturgy: Fourth Century Jerusalem AAPB, 1989 In the Church of the Martyrium 1. Lucernare (lamp lighting) The Service of Light 2. Synaxis ((Lessons and Prayers The Liturgy of the Word 3. Baptism (in a building nearby) The Liturgy of the Baptism 4. Eucharist The Liturgy of the Eucharist The celebration of the Easter Vigil, except with the permission of the Bishop, takes place between nightfall on Saturday and early Sunday morning. It is not necessary that the Eucharist be celebrated at midnight, for it is not a ‘Midnight Eucharist’ (as is the case at Christmas), but the Eucharist of the Vigil. The resurrection has already been proclaimed, and greeted, at the start of the Service of Light! 5 Ibid, Page 188, Paragraph 47 6 The Martyrium is (effectively) the Nave of the Holy Sepulchre, which is believed to encompass the geographical realities of Calvary and the Tomb of Jesus. 2 The Church is in complete darkness. Christ the Light of the world has died. The priest goes, in procession, to the place where a fire has been laid. After an introductory address7 the fire is lit in silence and then blessed8. It is the FIRE – depicting the Life of Christ – which is blessed: not the candle! The Easter Candle becomes the vehicle for the fire. Action Words The vertical line of the Cross Christ yesterday and today The horizontal line of the Cross The beginning and the end The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, denoting the eternity of God The “Α” above the cross Alpha The “Ω” below the cross Omega The numbers of the year, symbolizing God’s authority over time and eternity The first numeral, 2 in the upper left quadrant all times belong to him second number, 0 in the upper right quadrant and all the ages third number, 1 in the lower left quadrant to him be power and glory fourth number, 6 in bottom right quadrant through every age for ever. Amen. The incense grains are inserted into the pattern on the Candle between the “A” and the Cross By his holy at the centre of the cross and glorious wounds between the Cross and the “Ω” may Christ our Lord at the left of the horizontal guard us at the right of the horizontal and keep us. Amen The Candle is lit from the fire, which has been blessed, and the priest says, “May the light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.” CHRIST IS RISEN! The lit Easter Candle is richly magnificent in symbolism: - the pure white wax ; the humanity of Christ - the five nails of incense ; the wounds of Christ - the numerals ; the unchanging nature of Christ - the slow consumption of the candle by fire ; the sacrifice of Christ.